Good plants for a 20L tank?

The plants I chose were Java fern and Amazon swords.
 
Ok. Thats fine, Its good to have hiding places in tanks anyway.
 
My Amazon swords are doing great in the tank. The Java ferns on the other hand, are not.They are just not growing. Could something be wrong?
 
Probably not, java ferns are quite slow growers. What ferts are you using, if any? Is your water soft? Javas grow best with a bit of GH & Kh...might be in your tap water, or not. Swords like root tabs but are ok with water column ferts. Do you know what kind of swords you have?
 
Java ferns grow really slow. This is really not abnormal that you aren't seeing any new growth. However, are they buried in the substrate or attached to a rock or piece of driftwood? They like to have their roots out of the substrate.
 
No, not quite sure what swords I have. I think they are just regulars, all they said in the store was " Amazon sword " . As for Tifftastic's question, they are not attached to driftwood or rocks and are just buried in the gravel.
 
That will greatly slow their already slow growth and eventually kill it.

Planting
The way Java fern should be planted is a bit different from what most aquarists are used to. It can grow quite tall, up to around 14 inches (35cm), which makes it a mid- or background plant. Unlike most aquarium plants it doesn’t appreciate being planted in the substrate at all and will grow very slowly or die off when the roots are buried. It actually absorbs most nutrients through the leaves and uses its roots to attach to a surface. This means you can tie it to driftwood or porous rocks like lava rock using some thread or fishing wire! For more information on how to do this, have a look at this guide.
The roots should quickly fasten onto the surface of the wood or rock until the plant is fully attached after a few weeks.
Click to expand...
http://aquariadise.com/growing-java-fern-microsorum-pteropus/
 
Thanks, Tiff. I'll try and get something to tie them to sometime soon!
 
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